Angel Carpenter, rear, teaches students how to paint a bird’s nest during a class on Friday, April 7, 2023.

At one time in her life, Angel Carpenter was an award-winning reporter with the Blue Mountain Eagle.

These days Carpenter, 53, teaches painting classes at Painted Sky Center for the Arts. The classes, formally called “WILDbrushes Art with Angel,” are Carpenter’s way of encouraging community members to “take some leaps of creativity.”

Carpenter is currently an instructional assistant at Humbolt Elementary, something she says she really enjoys. A healthy portion of her spare time is reserved for her WILDbrushes classes.

The classes are for all skill levels, although they are aimed primarily at beginners.

“I do sort of gear it toward beginners, but I have had some people just really take off — they’ve had a lot of art experience and they can take it to a different level,” she said.

Participants in the classes use acrylic paint on canvases, something Carpenter said she prefers because of the fast dry time.

“It’s forgiving — it’s a forgiving type of paint to use,” she said.

Carpenter, who holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Oregon State University, said she’d started her art business back in June of 2020 following her time with the Eagle and with the pandemic putting a hold on her teaching aspirations.

“I got all certified, was two weeks into actually being at the school and working … and then the shutdown happened,” she said.

Being home with her son during the shutdown led Carpenter to pursue her passion for art again.

“I just decided to get back into my art, and it was a really positive experience during that time,” she said.

WILDbrushes Art with Angel is described as a “paint party” by Carpenter, with events happening five to seven times a month.

“I try to make it a fun experience for them, and if they have some trouble I try to come in and help them with whatever they need,” she added.

One of the better parts of teaching the class, according to Carpenter, is seeing people who think they have very little art skill find that they’re quite artistic.

“This one lady came out and she said she couldn’t even draw a stick figure, and we painted a Santa that time,” she said.

Carpenter is now looking to build a portfolio of her work in hopes of teaching art classes online at some point in the future.

For now, Carpenter’s class schedule can be found on the Painted Sky Center for the Arts Facebook page, as well as their website. The cost of the classes is $35 and covers all the materials needed for the session.

NAME: Angel Carpenter

AGE: 53

RESIDENCE: John Day

OCCUPATION: Instructional assistant, Humbolt Elementary

ETC.: Teaches art classes through Painted Sky Center for the Arts